Property damage

{{Short description|Topic in insurance and criminal law}} {{more citations needed|date=March 2024}} [[File:2020augderecho-damaged-ag-structures-Marion-IA-2.jpg|thumb|Agricultural storage and processing structures in Marion, Iowa damaged by high winds of the 2020 Midwest derecho]] {{Criminal law}}

'''Property damage''' (sometimes called '''damage to property''') is the damage or destruction of real or tangible personal property, caused by negligence, willful destruction, or an act of nature.

'''Destruction of property''' (sometimes called '''property destruction''', or '''criminal damage''' in England and Wales) is a subset of property damage that involves damage to property that results from willful misconduct and is punishable as a crime.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Hörnle |editor1-first=Tatjana |editor2-last=Dubber |editor2-first=Markus D. |title=The Oxford Handbook of Criminal Law |date=2014 |publisher=OUP Oxford |location=Oxford, UK |isbn=978-0191654602}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=property damage |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/property_damage |access-date=2025-05-21 |website=LII / Legal Information Institute |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Wagon |first=Tina |date=2024-04-09 |title=What is Considered Criminal Damage to Property |url=https://wheldonlaw.co.uk/what-is-considered-criminal-damage-to-property/ |access-date=2025-05-21 |website=Wheldon Law |language=en-GB}}</ref> Destruction of property encompasses vandalism (deliberate damage, destruction, or defacement), building implosion (destroying property with explosives), and arson (destroying property with fire), and similar crimes that involve unlawful infliction of damage to or destruction of personal property or real property.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wright |first1=Richard |last2=Jacques |first2=Scott |title=Property Crime: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide |date=2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press, USA |location=St. Louis, MO |isbn=9780199805709 |page=11}}</ref>

== Insurance claims == Property damage also refers to loss of tangible property in insurance loss claims, related to residential and commercial buildings, as well as motor vehicles.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-06-04 |title=Loss of Use as Property Damage |url=https://www.irmi.com/articles/expert-commentary/loss-of-use-as-property-damage |access-date=2025-05-21 |website=www.irmi.com |language=en-US}}</ref> In motor vehicle accidents, typically there may be loss to structures, personal items, and vehicles, which would be referred to as property damage.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How Is Property Damage Handled in an Auto Accident? |url=https://vaughanandvaughan.com/faqs/how-is-property-damage-handled-in-an-auto-accident-claim/ |access-date=2025-05-21 |website=vaughanandvaughan.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Toney-Butler |first=Tammy J. |title=Motor Vehicle Collisions |date=2025 |work=StatPearls |url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK441955/ |access-date=2025-05-21 |place=Treasure Island (FL) |publisher=StatPearls Publishing |pmid=28722984 |last2=Varacallo |first2=Matthew A.}}</ref>

==See also== *Mischief *Damages

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Criminal law Category:Property insurance Category:Vandalism Category:Problem behavior Category:Property crimes